iPhone/iPad iOS music making app round-up: Week 55

A bumper pre-Christmas crop

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A seasonal selection

We’re rounding up a sizeable herd of apps this week; developers have clearly been rushing to get their software into the App Store in time for Christmas so that they can attract some of the many people who’ll be getting an iTunes gift voucher or two in their stocking. Enjoy…

Retronyms Tabletop 1.3, £0.69

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.2 or later)

More new devices for Tabletop in this update. A 3-band EQ now comes included, while a bassline sequencer, drum machine, glitch effect and distortion effect are available as in-app purchases. The price above is a limited-time sale one.

Moog Animoog for iPhone, £0.69

Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 4.2 or later)

The title says it all, really: Moog’s Animoog iPad synth is now available for smaller iOS devices, though you’ll need a model that has an arm7 processor in order to run it. Get it quickly before the price shoots up to $9.99.

Pulse Code Rhythm Studio 1.05, £0.69

Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 4.0 or later)

The latest update to Rhythm Studio is another significant one, adding a two-oscillator synth and new effects including a phaser, reverb, distortion unit, EQ and auto filter. The app is now fully multi-touch enabled, too.

Shape of Sound Sketch Synth 3D, £22.99

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 3.2 or later)

We’re getting into decidedly futuristic territory here, with an app that not only enables you to draw sounds in 3D on your iPad, but also allows you to hook up Xbox Kinect and create them with that (you can also use it as a MIDI controller). It’s probably best if we point you in the direction of the intro video so that you can learn more.

Damien Di Fede WaveShaper, £3.99

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 3.2 or later)

“Create unique sound effects using any audio file” - that’s the pitch of this ‘audio synthesis’ app. You can use white, pink and red noise as a control source for the algorithm, while there are two control points for controlling noise generation and the location in the source audio.

Bit Shape TC-11 Multi-Touch Synthesizer £20.99

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)

A synth that’s designed to max-out the iPad’s multi-touch capabilities; there are no knobs, keys or sliders - everything is tweaked by the way you touch the interface. There are 64 presets, or you can make use the 21 modular synthesis objects, 22 oscillator waveforms and three controller modules to create your own.

Simian Squared Ltd Physynth, £0.69

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 5.0 or later)

A generative synth that sports a 3D interface. You can ‘charge’ physical objects with sound and collide them with each other to trigger them. We’re told that this is an “entirely new way of creating music”, and one that’s accessible to everyone. The price listed is an introductory one.

Alkex Instruments Magic Midi, £1.49

Compatibility: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad (requires iOS 3.0 or later)

You might not think that there’s much magical about a 16 pad MIDI controller app, but this one differs from the rest in that it actually uses an audio signal to send its MIDI signals. Just hook up a mini-jack cable between your device and computer, install a free desktop application and you’re away.

Imaginando Livkontrol

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 4.3 or later)

This isn’t the first Ableton Live controller app to have been released, but its developer claims that “it’s the most effective and affordable”. You can launch clips or entire scenes, mute, stop solo and arm tracks and control track and master volume.

Naughty Panther Phaedra, £2.99

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 5.0 or later)

A 4-bus analogue-style MIDI sequencer. Each bus can use up to 32 steps and run at several multiples of the base time, while each step has programmable note, velocity, gate time and two MIDI CC outputs. Note that Phaedra has no built-in sounds - it’s designed to be hooked up to a synth.

Yonac Inc Shredder, £3.99

Compatibility: iPad (requires iOS 5.0 or later)

A new synth that’s designed to be controlled by your guitar (you don’t need a special synth pickup - just plug it in or mic it up). You can customise the guitar tracking, while the synth itself is an FM/subtractive hybrid affair. You can also send 16 channels of MIDI Out. This price is an introductory one.